Caracas - oil subsidy a disaster

photo link

Caracas, Venezuela - government should spend oil money on free public transport, not cheap car travel. [el gobierno debería gastar el dinero del petróleo en el transporte público gratuito.]

Oil is bloody

On May 13, the Nigerian military launched an assault on villages in that nation's oil-rich Niger Delta. Hundreds of civilians are feared killed in the attack. According to Amnesty International, a celebration in the delta village of Oporoza was attacked. An eyewitness told the organization: "I heard the sound of aircraft; I saw two military helicopters, shooting at the houses, at the palace, shooting at us. We had to run for safety into the forest. In the bush, I heard adults crying, so many mothers could not find their children; everybody ran for their life." CommonDreams

CDH proposes free public transport in Brussels

We want to have a capital where people from many different origins can work together in a way that they respect each other and share the same values. And that they get education, get jobs.
Mobility is a big issue for Brussels – we need to accelerate the public transport network and what’s available. CDH proposes free public transport in Brussels. The Brussels government already subsidises transport tickets. We believe that there should be better choices in terms of public transport – in terms of quality, network, frequency, cleanliness. We are a capital where people use mostly their cars and we have to change that, initially by providing better public transport that’s free for users. MedicinsSansFrontieres

Free transit for EU seniors proposed... again

Nessa Childers, Labour's MEP candidate for Ireland East, today announced a major proposal to bring free public transport to senior citizens from across the EU in all 27 EU member states. Nessa was speaking at an Irish Senior Citizens Parliament public meeting in Dundalk, organised in the run up to the European and local elections. The meeting focused on the European Union and the upcoming European elections as well as a number of other issues. Ireland Labour Party

U.S. autosprawl chickens coming home to roost

One year of GM Stock (from Google Finance)

Auto companies in bankruptcy, soldiers bogged down in hopeless energy wars, unsustainable homes in foreclosure -- the U.S. policy of "build roads, drop bombs" is coming home.

It is intuitive that the autosprawl system is wasteful. The best way to cut that waste is to make public transit fare-free. Fares simply are a restraint-of-trade tariff which hurts all business in order to subsidize the auto/fossil-fuel/sprawl industry.

Simplify

...Public transit debates are often a confused mixture of technical information and value judgments. Sometimes, it serves someone's agenda to keep these things mixed up....
As an expert on public transit, let me warn you that the job of developing great transit must never be left entirely to experts. Once a community has expressed its transit goals, experts have a role in designing systems to meet them. But experts shouldn't be the source of the goals themselves. Citizens and their elected officials are entitled to a clear explanation of the underlying choices they face, and a chance to express their views on them. I believe every citizen has a right to debate about their public services in terms that they can understand... -- Jarret Walker, Human Transit

Cars stink

I support the New Urbanism but strongly prefer the pure car-free solution, as the advantages are even greater. Once the last car disappears from the street, it becomes a playground for people of all ages. This can be seen any day in Venice or Fes. Peace, safety and tranquility settle over the street, and a rich and vibrant social life takes the place of the stink, noise, and danger of cars. JHCrawford- NYTimes

Congress for New Urbanism

Who is next? Columbia Missouri?

Columbia explores offering free transit
Friday, May 8, 2009 12:01 a.m. CDT
BY Jessica Cherry
COLUMBIA — In September, the City of Columbia doubled bus fares. Now, City Council is exploring ideas to create free public transit...
columbiamissourian.com

Zagreb, Croatia - Free Public Transport

Free public transport in Zagreb as city bosses look to cut car numbers
Croatian Times

City bosses in Zagreb have introduced free public transport in a bid to cut car numbers in the capital.

Public city transport in the wider Zagreb downtown area became free of charge as of today (Tue) and Zagreb Municipal Transit System (ZET) head Ivan Tolic said: "This is designed to reduce car traffic in the centre and encourage residents to park their cars in public garages outside the centre."

Tolic said the city’s finances would not be hurt by the new measure.